As I remember it, all of the original footage (the interviews, etc.) was pretty obviously shot on video as well. I can't find any other reference to a 35mm version of Histoire(s), and when Moments choisis appeared it was considered distinct from the original series in large part because it existed on 35mm. So I'm thinking they only recently transferred Histoire(s) to 35mm (which would be desirable from a preservation standpoint if nothing else) or the listing is wrong (my personal guess).

I did a cursory search on Google, and apparently a "highlights" compilation was indeed created and transferred to 35mm. This would have been before the spring of 2008, when the first DVDs of the entire thing was released. However, I haven't turned up anything about the entire work being made available on 35mm prints.

hearthesilence wrote:I did a cursory search on Google, and apparently a "highlights" compilation was indeed created and transferred to 35mm. This would have been before the spring of 2008, when the first DVDs of the entire thing was released. However, I haven't turned up anything about the entire work being made available on 35mm prints.

The "highlights" compilation is the Moments choisis I mentioned, though it's been reworked enough that I'm leery of that description—it's more than just the best chunks from each episode laid end to end. It doesn't seem to have ever been officially released on video (a Japanese DVD was announced but canceled), though it's circulating unofficially.

domino harvey wrote:There is zero reason to see this in 35mm

There's no reason to see it for the sake of 35mm (though as I've said, I don't think that's what this actually is), but I have seen it theatrically (on video) and felt it worked fine in that context, source quality issues and all. The downside is they'll most likely be using the maddeningly abbreviated original subtitles rather than the more comprehensive jobs seen on some of the DVD releases.

The Fanciful Norwegian wrote:The "highlights" compilation is the Moments choisis I mentioned, though it's been reworked enough that I'm leery of that description—it's more than just the best chunks from each episode laid end to end.

Ah, never mind then. The "highlights" description comes from a review written on the DVD release by James S. Williams. I was not aware of Moments choisis until you mentioned it, but digging deep into what little French I know, I can now see the translation is more or less "choice moments," though I guess it shouldn't be taken too literally.

Any thoughts on Gaumont's "Godard Politique"box set? I bought this with gritted teeth, expecting it to be a chore, but it's proven to be surprisingly enjoyable. I supplemented it with few films that aren't in the box set and did a mini-retrospective.

It's fascinating to see how the films changed as Godard went from a (self-described) "bourgeois making revolutionary films" to "a revolutionary filmmaker."

As mentioned, the extras don't have English subtitles, but Antoine de Baecque's French in very understandable (hélas, not Gorin's) and he provides a lot of interesting background material. One anecdote: Godard really did want to do a "film by committee," so he got together a group of 30, but after two weeks of meetings, they couldn't agree an anything, so he called in Gorin. The result was "Un Film comme les autres" (say what you will :) )

My recommendation so far is 'Pravda,' which is brief (67 min. IIRC) and more focused than some, as Godard's sustained criticism of "revisionists" in the then-Czechoslovakia.

It's rather much like the credits sequences at the end of his films. We have some audio from the ending of Contempt (with JLG as the A.D. saying "Moteur") and then afterwards some of Hans Otte's work last used by JLG in Notre musique (from Otte's The Book of Sounds).

The glimpses of image that we do get are incredible, the texture and color and movement of it. I hope this is every bit as psychedelic as Adieu au langage aside from remaining in 2D.

Another bit I spotted - in the flashing title text at the end, a few frames of on-screen text from Ici et ailleurs referencing the Arabian Nights: "Peut-être que dans mille et un jours, Shéhérazade racontera tout cela différement." / "Perhaps in a thousand and one nights, Scheherazade would recount all of this differently."

We also see what appears to be a credit for Michael Bay's 13 Hours, and my favorite French rendering of an English title ever, Les Dents de la mer aka Jaws.

Her writing in recent years has sought to unearth all manner of unknown cinema, so it's fitting that she's credited (according to the French wiki article on the film) with 'Archéologie.' With a particular interest in experimental and politically radical filmmaking, you can see some of that influence in other names spotted in the trailer, like Hollis Frampton or La Commune (Peter Watkins, maybe, but also perhaps a 1914 film by the filmmaker & anarchist Armand Guerra).

I imagine they'll follow pretty shortly! It's a poetic text about the passage from the era of cinéastes to that of techniciens, cinema becoming "an organ of capitalism." From gestures to technique, to the visual becoming a realm of surveillance, fear and death. It's very much a continuation of Je vous salue, Sarajevo, where he uses some of the same language regarding "The Rule" and "The Exception" to talk about the chasm between art and 'culture'.

"And in these structures of concrete, still flourishing in the cracks, there where humidity persists, this grass we call invasive, when it does nothing but protect us from erosion. And that's the hovel, the Far West, the nameless."

My translation is lacking, but hopefully that conveys some of it. The word he uses, gourbi, which I'm calling 'hovel', describes a crudely built living structure (such as a tent or a hut) in North Africa (Algeria in particular), but also is used to describe some of the improvised structures (like this, where the sign reads 'Alliance of Struggles,') built by Zadistes at NDDL.

A couple more items: The open letter to Godard (calling for the shut down of the Cannes festival, as in 68) that may have spurred the creation of this short as a response; and the film's press kit featuring, if not exactly a review, then certainly a strong response from critic Bernard Eisenschitz to the film.

The only Nouvelle vague DVD I'm aware of is the r2/PAL Cahiers du Cinéma one (sold in a 2-disc set with Passion). Likewise the best transfer of Éloge de l'amour is, by far, the Cahiers 2-disc set with Notre musique. If memory serves, all four titles have english subs included.

And what a fantastic interview it is - although, on a more melancholic note, the transcript (and JLG's own words) make it clear that Godard is struggling more with his recall of words and memories these days. That having been said, he's still extremely lucid overall. I found the link between Godard, Marina Vlady, and her late husband, Vladimir Vysotsky, particularly interesting (one of Vysotsky's songs appears in Le livre d'image). Vysotsky's own story, particularly the events surrounding and leading up to his death, are pretty harrowing to read about.

It's also interesting to note that it seems like, as far as Godard and Aragno are concerned, the only officially sanctioned way of experiencing Le livre d'image is via one of the four announced installations to come hopefully later this year. While they have sold the rights elsewhere, in the U.S. for instance, they seem rather dismissive of the idea of watching it in a regular cinema setting. I'm quite thankful, of course, that we will be getting a more traditional release (particularly one that should lead to a home video edition).